SEO

SEO

SEO (or Search Engine Optimization) is the practice of enhancing where a webpage appears in search results. By adjusting a webpage’s on-page SEO elements (see the letter “O”) and influencing off-page SEO factors (again, see the letter “O”), an inbound marketer can improve where a webpage appears in search engine results.

On-Page Optimization

This type of SEO is based solely on a webpage and the various elements within the HTML (see “H” if you skipped here directly). Ensuring that key pieces of the specific page (content, title tag, URL, and image tags) include the desired keyword will help a page rank for that particular phrase.

Off-Page Optimization

This is the free-spirited cousin of on-page optimization. Off-page SEO refers to incoming links and other outside factors that impact how a webpage is indexed in search results. Factors like linking domains and even social media play a role in off-page optimization. The good news is that it’s powerful; the not so good news is that it’s mostly out of an inbound marketer’s control. The solution? Create useful, remarkable content and chances are people will share and link to it.

XML Sitemap

We couldn’t leave “X” out of the party! An XML sitemap is a file you can use to publish lists of links from across your site. Sitemaps do not guarantee all links will be crawled, and being crawled does not guarantee indexing. However, a sitemap is still the best insurance for getting a search engine to learn about your entire site. It’s sort of like saying “Hey, Google — check out this fine website.”